Berkeley police make arrest in Zontee Jones murder

A memorial for Zontee Jones, who was killed in West Berkeley on Feb. 4. Photo: Emilie Raguso

Police have arrested an Oakland man in connection with the premeditated killing of Zontee Jones, who was fatally shot Feb. 4 on Delaware Street near San Pablo Avenue in West Berkeley. Jones, 34, was the city’s first homicide of 2013.

Jevon Calland, 21, was arrested June 16 on suspicion of murder. He’s being held without bail at the Berkeley Jail, according to the Alameda County sheriff’s department, and is scheduled for arraignment Wednesday afternoon.

On Feb. 4 at approximately 11 a.m., Berkeley and Albany police officers responded to multiple reports of shots fired, with a victim down near the intersection of Delaware and San Pablo. They found Jones suffering from gunshot wounds. He was taken to Highland Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Detectives have been gathering evidence and pursuing leads in relation to Jones’ murder since February, according to a statement released Tuesday evening by the Berkeley Police Department. Berkeleyside had inquired Monday about Calland’s arrest.

“Detectives developed information implicating Calland as a suspect in Jones’ murder and an arrest warrant was sought,” the statement continues. “Calland was arrested by the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office in Hayward on an unrelated warrant. BPD was then notified that he was in custody. BPD took custody of Calland and booked him into the Berkeley city jail. The case has been forwarded to the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office for charging.”

Tuesday morning, police said Berkeley detectives and the department’s tactical team executed a search warrant in connection with the case in Antioch. No further information was available Tuesday night.

An arrest was made in mid-February in connection with the Jones murder, although no details were forthcoming from authorities, who cited the on-going investigation.

Jones’ girlfriend, Teena Alexander, told the Oakland Tribune in February that Jones lived in Berkeley and Richmond, and worked as a maintenance man at her apartment building on Delaware.

Jones’ homicide is the only one to have taken place within the Berkeley city limits so far this year.

In May, 21-year-old Alverto Santana-Silva of Fremont was shot on Grizzly Peak Boulevard within the University of California Police Department’s jurisdiction. Berkeley firefighters were dispatched to the call, along with a number of other agencies, but the incident did not take place in Berkeley.